Semil Shah

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Semil Shah
Born Semil Shah
(1977-01-27) January 27, 1977 (age 47)
Residence Palo Alto, California
Occupation Investor, writer

Semil Shah (born January 27, 1977) is a technology investor, startup adviser, and media personality.[1] He is the founder of Haystack, a tech investment firm notable for being an early investor in such companies as Instacart and Doordash.[2] He is a venture adviser to GGV Capital and Bullpen Capital, and also serves on the advisory boards for StrictlyVC and The Alpha Network.[3]

As a writer, Shah has contributed to TechCrunch as a weekly columnist, and as the creator of one of their video series.[4] The series, In the Studio, featured interviews with leaders in the fields of technology, startups, and investment. Past notable guests on the show include David Sze, Peter Fenton, and AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant.[5] From 2009 to 2010, Shah was also a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review.[6]

Shah was listed as one of the 55 Unknown Rock Stars In Tech by tech venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, and has served as a commentator on Bloomberg TV.[7][8]

Life and career

Entrepreneur

Shah graduated from Harvard University with a Masters in Economic Development and Strategy in 2008.[9] In 2009, Shah began his entrepreneurial career when he helped found MegaCell Therapeutics, a life sciences company in Boston.[10]

In 2011, Shah was the Head of Operations for Rexly, a web service that allows users to play music from their iTunes library and share them on Twitter or Facebook.[11][12] Shah additionally served as an adviser to the company, and helped guide it in its acquisition by Live Nation in July 2012.[13][14]

In 2013, Shah was one of the first employees at Swell Radio, a mobile radio streaming app that learned user preferences based on listening behavior.[15] Shah was involved in mobile product development, marketing, and distribution.[16] In July 2014, the app was acquired by Apple for $30 million.[17]

Venture capitalist

After working as an operations executive for several years, Shah began consulting for venture capital firms including General Catalyst Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.[18] Notably, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was named one of the "largest and most established" venture capital firms by The Wall Street Journal, as they were early investors in such companies as Google, Amazon, and AOL.[19][20] As a consultant, Shah provided input on deal evaluation, due diligence, and marketing.[21]

In 2013, Shah founded Haystack, an investment firm based in Palo Alto, California that focuses on early-stage technology ventures.[22] The firm has invested in over 70 companies, including Giphy, Doordash, and Instacart, which currently have a valuation of $80 million, $600 million, and $2 billion respectively.[23][24][25][26]

Additionally, Shah is a venture advisor to GGV Capital and Bullpen Capital,[27] and also serves on the advisory boards for StrictlyVC and The Alpha Network.[28]

Media

From 2009 to 2010, Shah contributed to Harvard Business Review, where he wrote about entrepreneurship, international business, and economics.[29][30]

From January 2011 to April 2014, Shah was a weekly contributor to TechCrunch.[31] His column, Iterations, focused on market trends and product analysis.[32] At TechCrunch, Shah also created and hosted a web video series, In the Studio, that featured interviews with leaders in the fields of technology, startups, and investment. Guests included Patrick Collison of Stripe, Mike Maples of Floodgate Fund, and Hiten Shah of Kissmetrics.[33] As of July 2015, Shah continues to write about the tech industry on his personal blog, Haywire.[34][35]

In January 2015, Shah was invited as a guest on Bloomberg TV to provide his thoughts on the sharing economy and Instacart's growth.[36]

External links

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://blog.semilshah.com/about/
  2. ↑ http://www.strictlyvc.com/2014/11/24/semil-shah-part-time-vc-longer/
  3. ↑ http://blog.semilshah.com/about/
  4. ↑ http://techcrunch.com/author/semil-shah/
  5. ↑ http://techcrunch.com/video/in-the-studio/
  6. ↑ https://hbr.org/search?term=semil+shah
  7. ↑ http://www.businessinsider.in/the-55-unknown-rock-stars-in-tech-according-to-marc-andreessen/articleshow/44892603.cms
  8. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-01-07/instacart-raises-210m-as-amazon-starts-1hour-deliveries
  9. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/semilshah
  10. ↑ http://techcrunch.com/author/semil-shah/
  11. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/semilshah
  12. ↑ https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/rexly
  13. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/semilshah
  14. ↑ http://venturebeat.com/2012/07/16/live-nation-buys-rexly/
  15. ↑ http://www.earwolf.com/episode/semil-shah-venture-capital-advisor-investor/
  16. ↑ https://www.crunchbase.com/person/semil-shah
  17. ↑ http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-acquires-and-shutters-podcasting-app-swell/
  18. ↑ http://blog.semilshah.com/about/
  19. ↑ http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2010/01/22/one-of-these-venture-capital-firms-is-not-like-the-other/
  20. ↑ https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/kleiner-perkins-caufield-byers
  21. ↑ http://blog.semilshah.com/about/
  22. ↑ https://www.crunchbase.com/person/semil-shah
  23. ↑ https://angel.co/haystack
  24. ↑ http://www.businessinsider.com/doordash-raises-35-million-at-600-million-valuation-2015-3
  25. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-13/instacart-valued-at-2-billion-in-new-220-million-fundraising
  26. ↑ http://www.businessinsider.com/giphy-a-2-year-old-search-engine-for-gifs-just-raised-17-million-at-an-80-million-valuation-2015-1
  27. ↑ http://www.strictlyvc.com/2014/11/24/semil-shah-part-time-vc-longer/
  28. ↑ http://blog.semilshah.com/about/
  29. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/semilshah
  30. ↑ https://hbr.org/search?term=semil+shah
  31. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/semilshah
  32. ↑ http://techcrunch.com/author/semil-shah/
  33. ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/24/announcing-a-new-techcrunch-tv-show-in-the-studio/
  34. ↑ http://articles.bplans.com/17-venture-capital-blogs-you-should-be-reading/
  35. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=214843928&privcapId=59448411&previousCapId=59448411&previousTitle=Javelin%20Venture%20Partners
  36. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-01-07/instacart-raises-210m-as-amazon-starts-1hour-deliveries
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Semil_Shah&oldid=681269380"